Mechanical fasteners, which are also called hook and loop fasteners, are useful for providing releasable attachment in numerous applications. For example, mechanical fasteners are widely used in wearable absorbent articles to fasten such articles around the body of a person. In typical configurations, a hook strip or patch on a fastening tab attached to the rear waist portion of a diaper or incontinence garment, for example, can fasten to a landing zone of loop material on the front waist region, or the hook strip or patch can fasten to the backsheet (e.g., nonwoven backsheet) of the diaper or incontinence garment in the front waist region. Absorbent articles often employ woven or nonwoven materials, for example, to provide a cloth-like feeling in order to increase the comfort of wearing.
Fastening tabs often have a manufacturer's end that is attached to the rear waist region of an absorbent article and a user's end that can be grasped and extends outwardly beyond the edge of an absorbent article before it is attached to the front waist region of the absorbent article. The attachment point of the tab at the manufacturer's end must be strong enough to withstand the force applied during the application and wearing of the absorbent article; otherwise the tab can separate from the absorbent article during use. So called Y-bonded fastening tabs are proposed to have strong attachment to absorbent articles; see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,594 (Buell).
In some cases, fastening tabs include a substrate that is coated entirely with adhesive. The adhesive at the manufacturer's end is used to permanently attach the fastening tab to the edge of the absorbent article, and the adhesive at the user's end is used to attach the hook strip or patch to the fastening tab. Exposed adhesive between the edge of the absorbent article and the hook strip or patch can be managed by means of a release tape, for example, on a surface of the absorbent article that comes into contact with the exposed adhesive while the absorbent article is in the package.